


Worth It

by gemmawolf



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Omegaverse, Single Dad AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-06
Updated: 2015-08-20
Packaged: 2018-02-20 03:18:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2413007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gemmawolf/pseuds/gemmawolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alfred is a single Alpha father struggling to raise his daughter alone. The entire world is against him; his boss, his neighbours, his government. He wants to do right by his little girl but fears that he isn't up to it. When an Omega walks into his life, an Omega who isn't deterred by the prospect of raising someone else's child, his hopes pick up - could Arthur be the one he is missing to make it all work? Currently a oneshot, let me know if you've got any ideas for potential chapters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Chance Meeting

Dragging them both round the walmart wasn't exactly the way Alfred Jones would liked to have spent his Sunday afternoon, but life isn't fair. Watching some TV or a movie would have been more relaxing, a nice way to spend the waning hours of the weekend before the turmoil of work the next day. Instead, he was pushing a half-empty shopping cart up and down aisles like any other week, Amelia kicking off every five minutes. Already she'd tried to grab a toy giraffe off one of the shelves in the kids section on their way to find some diapers, and when he put it back and said she didn't need it, the flood gates opened. She wanted a big chocolate-chip cookie; he said no. She screamed. He was used to it though, having dealt with his strong-willed daughter for her two years of life all on his own. All children were prone to tears and tantrums, but the sheer frequency of her episodes had him seriously wondering if she would turn out to be an Alpha like himself.

It wasn't easy being a single parent, but being an Alpha single parent added another dimension to the problems. Finding childcare during work ours is hell for anyone, but without the rights to creche places that Omega and Beta mothers were entitled to meant he had to pay out of his pocket every week day. Why would Alphas ever need such benefits? They weren't the ones having babies. His nature also made it difficult to find parent-child classes or sessions at places like the pool or the library; the Omegas and youngsters may feel threatened by the presence of a strange Alpha, so he wasn't allowed to take part. He couldn't be the only one in this tricky situation, but that didn't stop him from feeling like the entire world was against him.

Amelia was his life, even if she crying and kicking and wailing through the chilled foods section. After all, she was all he had left of his mate. Unfortunately, the dedication of parenthood and the grinding hours of his job left very little room to get back into the dating market. Besides, what sort of Omega would want to bring up someone else's kid? They were nurturing, sure, but only to their own blood; why invest in genetics that aren't your own? It was instinct, he supposed.

He nearly broke down in tears himself when the toddler threw her toy elephant halfway down the aisle. It was a tatty thing by now, chewed and washed countless times. The grey, silky-soft animal had been by her side since she was taken home from hospital only three days old, yet for some reason she loved to abuse it. "Amelia," he groaned, turning to fetch it. He could hear her beginning to fuss as he walked away, and felt the glares coming from a couple of people nearby. Oh what a terrible parent! How could he leave the poor angel like that? They didn't know half the story. Perhaps another reason he hadn't got back into the dating game was because he'd grown into a habit of avoiding people; they only caused trouble, judging without asking and acting without thinking. His next door neighbours even called child services on him once, concerned that he was neglecting his daughter. While the social workers had been satisfied with what they saw, he was placed on a warning list. People took child welfare very seriously these days.

Before he could reach the elephant, someone beat him to it and scooped it off the floor. The hands were pale and slim; beautiful. He straightened up and made eye-contact with the Omega who'd come to his rescue. He wasn't much shorter than himself, and while he appeared on the skinny side there was still a softness about him; freckle-dusted cheeks and dark eyebrows framed lively mossy-green eyes. The Omega smiled and held out the toy. "Here." His voice was smooth and sweet like honey. British. Alfred felt his heart beat a little faster.

"Thanks," he said, smiling back shyly as he took Mr Trunky back. "Thought I was gonna faint if I bent down."

"You do look tired," he replied, frowning a bit. Oh God, that concentrating look's adorable. "And you smell a bit ill."

Lovesick. Go on, say it. Now's your chance! Whoever knew he might find a match while trailing through walmart? But Amelia started wailing louder, demanding his attention, and his opportunity was lost. "Um, thanks again," he said, turning away slowly.

"You're welcome."

He jogged back to the cart where Amelia was kicking up a fuss, and wiggled the cuddly toy in front of her. "Don't worry Baby Girl, Daddy's back. And look! He brought Mr Trunky with him!" After a couple of minutes of playing and making her giggle, someone asked him to move so they could reach the cheese. He gave her back her toy, and carried on with the shopping.

He was zoned out for most of the time, mechanically picking items off the shelves and placing them in the cart. It wasn't until he was loading their stuff onto the conveyor at the checkout that he snapped out of it, when a bright voice said in and English accent, "We have to stop meeting like this."

Alfred grinned and spun round to see the Omega from earlier waiting in line behind him. A second chance? God was indeed gracious. "I dunno, I could happily make a habit of it," he replied, a bit quieter than he usually was. He was used to being scrutinised, to blanking out the rest of the world, but being shy? He hadn't felt this way in a long time. He could feel his cheeks heating up already.

The Omega circled round their cart and came closer. "Then I'd better give you my number." He winked, and scribbled a string of characters on the bottom of Alfred's shopping list. The name read 'Arthur'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Freckled Arthur is best Arthur.
> 
> I love Omegaverse, but there must be so much more to it than heat, knotting, mpreg - not that all that isn't wonderful *dreamy eyes*. I love exploring theories and dynamics, so when I had the idea for a singledad!au I thought, "Why not make it Omegaverse too and add a twist?" And here we are!
> 
> This was going to be a multi-chapter thing, but I've kinda moved on from it. Sorry! If you've got any requests for this story I might do some extra chapters to flesh it out some more. It was heading in the direction that they get together. >w


	2. Phone Call

TV - check. Toys - check. Daughter kept occupied for the next five minutes - check.

Alfred held the phone in his hands, staring at it like it was going to bite him. Some brightly coloured childrens cartoon played on the TV, enthralling his little girl from her spot on the fluffy living room rug. He needed to leave for work soon, so it was now or never. He held the shopping list by the edge, careful to not smudge or obscure the phone number written in the bottom corner. He took a deep breath. "Alright, Amelia, daddy has to take an important phone call," he mumbled on the exhale, pressing down on the buttons one by one.

The dial tone against his ear was a lengthy wait, but the ringing on the other end of the line was even worse. In those few seconds a thousand thoughts ran through his head: What if he doesn't remember me? What if I've got the wrong number? What if he gave me the wrong number? What if he likes me but not Amelia? What if he was just being polite? 

"Hello?" It was him, Arthur. The Alpha said nothing, words stuck in his throat, all trying to get out at once. After a few seconds the Omega said, "If you're calling to sell me something why don't you just fu-"

"A-Arthur?" he stammered, voice catching as he forced himself to speak. "It's me. It's, um, Alfred. The guy from the Walmart? With the elephant? You remember me?"

He winced. The guy with the elephant? Really?

But the other man knew what he meant. "Oh! Yes I remember. Sorry about that - nuisance calls and all that. How are you?"

"I'm..." He checked the clock on the wall. He seriously had to get going if he wanted to drop Amelia off on time. "I'm good. I was calling to see if you wanted to meet up sometime?" There, he'd said it. He set the piece of paper down; his hand was shaking ever so slightly.

"Forward - I like that. I know a good bar in town if you're free tonight?"

"Um..." His voice hung in the air as he glanced back at Amelia, giggling and clapping along to a song on the TV. He wanted to, but there were so many reasons why he couldn't. At the top of that list was messing with her evening routine and finding enough money to pay a babysitter. Add to that the fact that he hadn't been 'out' in almost three years, giving up drinking with Alpha friends when his mate fell pregnant, and he was reluctant to face a social scene any time soon. Besides, what would he wear? His closet had quickly descended into a cesspit of polo shirts and sweaters, typical dad outfits.

He didn't want to be rude, and he certainly didn't want to seem creepy, but: "Could we, I dunno, hang out at my place instead?" He said it anyway. It took all his willpower not to slam his head through the drywall. Idiot! He rubbed his neck. "Sorry, that's not gonna happen is it? Strange Alpha and all that. I'll work something out with a sitter or somethin'."

"Don't worry about it." No, no! Don't run away! Alfred repeatedly banged the back of his skull against the wall as quietly as he could, dislodging his glasses. Yet this Omega who wasn't put off by his daughter wasn't about to be put off by his awkwardness either. "Why don't we do something at the weekend? Child-friendly."

He was beaming; he hadn't genuinely smiled like that in God only knows how long. Breathing a sigh of relief he replied, "That would be brilliant. The park on Sunday?"

"Eleven o'clock?"

"Sure."

He heard a laugh like honey from the receiver. "Brilliant. I look forward to it." Then he hung up. Alfred looked at the phone, surprised, then set it back in its cradle on the table.

He positively hopped up and down in excitement - until he saw that he was running late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, I know, but the next logical step. And I wanted to get something posted thanks to the wonderful comments, suggestions and support I was given from the first chapter :D I've got some ideas together but it's just getting the words out, urgh. I might jump forwards and even backwards to make sure the content is decent.  
> Thanks again :) x


	3. The First Date

It probably wasn't what most people would imagine when they thought about going on a date, but it was near perfect to him. It wasn't exciting or even particularly romantic, but he was well within his comfort zone. The spring day had started out sunny and almost summer-like, but as the morning drew to a close the sky had greyed and a blustery wind picked up, tugging at his clothes and hair. Amelia was snuggled up in all sorts of layers; the gloves had taken him ages to get onto her hands as she fussed. Their Saturday morning walk was fairly routine, taking her to feed the ducks at the pond and treating her to an ice-cream on hot days, but the toddler sensed something was different this time round. Maybe it was the small bouquet of flowers in a carrier bag hanging from the handle of her pram, or the foreign smell of her father's cologne. Either way, it sent her spiraling into a bad mood just in time for their neighbours to see them.

"Someone's not happy," the woman said, raising her eyebrows at the sight of the young girl throwing up a fuss. "Maybe you shouldn't take her out."

Maybe you should mind your own business, he thought, but instead he simply gritted his teeth and said, "Good morning, Jackie," forcing a smile as he always did. In his opinion, his next door neighbours were old fashioned in their ways; the Omega raised the children and the Alpha brought food to the table. In their eyes, he was doing both jobs half as well. When his wife passed away, instead of offering support and a cup of coffee whenever he needed it like everyone else in their segment of the street, the couple in the house to the right of his own suggested that he put his newborn baby girl into care, "For her sake." Ever since he flat out refused such a notion they had watched him like a hawk, picking up on any detail they could and exaggerating it a thousand fold. When she wouldn't stop crying as a baby for a few weeks they assumed he was doing something wrong and called child protective services - it turned out she had colic and the only thing for him to do was to wait it out, his own sleep pattern be damned. Unfortunately they still had to put his details into the database in case there were any more concerns; the social worker didn't say it outright, but from the looks he sent him he could tell he didn't think he could cope either.

"Going somewhere nice?" the Omega asked him politely, putting her key in the door with her grocery bags under each arm.

He shrugged. "Just the usual. See you later." He picked up the pace, desperate to get out of sight and hearing distance. "Let's get away from the nasty lady,eh Amelia?" he said checking his watch. They were a bit behind but it was okay; they'd get there on time.

They didn't get there on time.

The moment he spotted Arthur sitting on a green park bench he started running, pushing the stroller ahead of him as fast as he could. "Sorry I'm late!" he called to the Omega, out of breath and starting to flag a bit. Arthur saw him and got up to meet him halfway, smiling. "We left a bit late because Amelia didn't want to wear her hat and gloves, then my neighbour stopped us, and all the traffics been against us at crossing and -"

"It's alright Alfred," the British man reassured him, "you're only a few minutes behind. There are some things that you have no control over."

The Alpha exhaled a heavy sigh of relief. "Thanks," he puffed, hands on his knees, trying to suck in more air. "Just gimme a minute, then we can get going."

"No rush."

Omegas were known to be timid, easily startled and easily offended, yet Arthur was quickly becoming the most laid-back person Alfred had ever known. So far he hadn't batted an eyelid at his obvious flaws as an Alpha - unorganised, flustered, shy - and was so incredibly patient that one would think he was immortal. Once the American's breathing was under control they headed towards the small lake, walking close together and discussing this and that. Arthur was older than him, but the youngest of four. He worked as a receptionist for some office-based company, Alfred didn't catch nor care which, and was currently living in a small flat a few miles from his neighbourhood. "But enough interrogating me," he joked as they came to the small lake at the centre of the park. The Omega kicked up bronze and crimson leaves off the damp path. "Tell me about yourself Alfred. And Amelia of course."

There was a bench free so they sat down. Alfred pulled an almost empty loaf of bread from a plastic bag; the last few pieces always went stale with only himself to eat it. He lifted his daughter onto his lap and helped her tear small pieces of the food up and scattering them to the ducks, who had spotted the free meal and were waddling towards them. "There's not much, I'm afraid," he said, handing a slice to the other man.

"I think you're wrong."

Alfred shrugged, throwing a handful of crumbs into the air. "There's not much of 'me' left. I used to like comic books and video games, but I gave it up when we started a family. Now there's just me to take care of Amelia. I'm all she has."

"She's incredibly important to you, isn't she?"

That was a no-brainer really; instinct aside, he adored his little girl, with her golden curls and cheeky smile and pink cheeks and stormy blue eyes. But that was just how beautiful she looked. She would sit on the couch with him and sing along to the songs of cartoons even though she could hardly pronounce the words; she would squeal with excitement at a trip in the car or being let loose in a ball pit. There was no neat way of eating for her; whether it be spaghetti, mashed potato or ice cream it would either end up all over her face or all over the floor - sometimes both, just for a bit of variety. She was troublesome and tiring, but he wouldn't trade her for anything in the world. Then he thought about the disapproving glances he earned from Omegas when they were out together, about the utter mistrust their eyes and he knew, he simply knew, that they were all thinking the same thing: "She'd be better off with someone else, someone who knows what they're doing."

Parenting was a learning curve, there was no doubt about that, and he wasn't there yet even after two long years. He only realised that he'd clutched Amelia closer and snuggled against her back when Arthur laid a light hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," he said. Strange; surely it the Alpha who ought to be comforting the Omega?

God I'm such a failure.

He set his jaw, biting back tears. Every now and again he would slip like this, but he'd gotten used to clawing his way out of the hole in his heart. "Nah, it's not your fault," he replied, wiping his eyes, then looked at Arthur, smiling. "There's just some things you can't control, right?"

The Omega rubbed at his arm gently. "Hm, tell me about it," he huffed. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, Amelia fidgeting and fussing to be let go of so she could chase the ducks; Alfred ended up walking with her to the water, holding tightly to her hand lest she shoot off, while Arthur took a quick trip to a food truck for some snacks and hot drinks. It gave the Alpha a chance to calm down and assess where their date was going. They'd learnt a little about each other - that had to be a good start. And while he couldn't speak for Arthur, he was simply enjoying the other man's company. He still felt awkward about not being able to go out at night though, and worried if it would cause the Brit to lose interest in him later on.

Amelia tugged on his arm, trying to reach the ducks on the water. He pulled her back, firmly saying, "No."

A couple with their own small children passed by, the Omega frowning at him. "You shouldn't have her near water," he said, "it's dangerous."

"Well, it's a good job he's got a tight hold of her." The couple turned, startled, to see Arthur standing close by with two steaming paper cups in his hands, glaring. "If he wanted your advice he'd have asked for it."

The Alpha and Omega bowed their heads to look at the ground as they moved on, not even muttering an apology. Arthur hunched his shoulder, gesturing to them. "Do you get that sort of thing a lot?" he asked, handing Alfred his drink.

"Yeah."

"Must be tough," Arthur continued, fishing in his pocket for something. "You know, I think you must be pretty damn wonderful to manage on your own. Nature aside, raising a kid on your own is difficult. You ought to be proud of yourself." He pulled a small candy bar from his coat. "Is she allowed chocolate?" Alfred nodded.

He watched as the Omega knealt down and whispered his daughter's name, catching her attention. She turned round, shy at first and clinging to her father's leg, but seemed entranced by the green-eyed stranger that was smiling at her. "This is for you," Arthur said, quietly yet clearly, "it's yummy."

A mittened hand reached out for the bar and took it before darting away again. Alfred laughed, surprised about how sheepish she had suddenly become. "What do you say?" he reminded her.

"Thank you," she mumbled, looking up at Arthur with big, curious eyes.

The little girl refused to get back in her pram, forcing the two adults to make an agonisingly slow loop of the park as they waited for her to grow tired of walking; at least it gave them more time together though. Alfred did his best to lift his low mood, talking about sports and the comics he read years ago and remembering all sorts of interesting things about himself. He guessed he wasn't so boring after all. He told Arthur all the little gems about his daughter that he could think of in the moment, her bold personality, her sweet tooth, how he was certain she would be an Alpha too.

By the time they came full circle to parks gates, Amelia was back in the stroller, snuggled up in a blanket and drifting in and out of sleep. "We should do this again sometime," the Omega whispered, not wanting to stir the toddler. "It's been nice."

Alfred grinned, then jumped in shock. "Oh, I nearly forgot," he said, pulling out the bouquet from the bag. He held them out to his date. "There are for you. Hope you like 'em."

Arthur smiled, blushing as he took the flowers. "You shouldn't have," he replied softly. "Thank you, I love roses. These will really brighten up my apartment."

"No problem."

They stood silently for a moment, neither making the first move to leave. Have I forgotten some rule? Am I meant to go first? Does he want me to walk him home? His thoughts froze when Arthur suddenly leant up on his tip-toes to place a quick kiss on his cheek before hurrying away down the path, glancing over his shoulder. Still in shock, Alfred just slowly waved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for comments, kudos and support! :D I've got some ideas for this fic, so it's just a case of how long it will take me to write out chapters. Some will be pretty short. Some will be fluff and others more dramatic. :3


	4. Bedtime Routine

He would have to re-run the bath at this rate. Amelia was throwing a right tantrum, refusing to have a bath even though it happened every night and enjoyed it. Maybe she was just upset that he'd turned off the TV for the night, thus ending her current marathon of Peppa Pig, though it was much more likely that is was just 'one of those things' that toddlers went through.

"Come on, hon'," he ground out as he tried to get a hold of her without being kicked or smacked, "you like bath time."

"No!"

"I've put bubbles in it. You like bubbles, don't you?"

"No!"

Ah yes, the 'no' phase. The epitome of a parent's nightmare. He struggled to tell if she was just putting up a fight for the hell of it, or actually refusing something she hated or feared; the last thing he wanted to do was force her to do something she genuinely didn't want to. He remembered being scolded for not eating his fruit and vegetables as a kid, but no one would believe that melon the back of his tongue itch until it showed up on an allergy test years later. Thanks, mom and dad. It was hard enough for young children to express themselves, but it certainly didn't help when they made everything a confusing and frustrating battle.

"I no want bath!" she bawled, and threw a punch at his arm. It didn't hurt, but he'd had enough.

The adult Alpha held her firmly by the arms and knealt down to her level. "Don't hit me," he growled, challenging her to look him in the eyes. She wouldn't dare. "We don't hit people." Amelia was silent now, save for the odd hiccup left over from her tears. He scooped her up and plopped her on the bottom step of the stairs. "You sit here and have some quiet time while I warm up your bath," he said calmly as he climbed the stairs. Halfway up he turned around and pointed at her, expression firm. "Don't move."

As he suspected, the water had gone cold. After letting some out and topping it up, the temperature was just right and he went to see if his daughter could follow instructions from her Head Alpha. She was still on the step, quiet as a mouse for once. When he picked her up she clung to his shirt. "Sorry, daddy," she sniffled into his shoulder.

"It's okay, Amy. Good girl for doing what I said," he whispered back, pressing a kiss to her chubby cheek. "Time for a bath."

She behaved herself after that, obediently sitting still in the tub so he could wash her hair without accidentally getting shampoo in her eyes. The reprieve was short however, as now she didn't want to get out. At the first mutterings of 'no' he sent her a hard glare and managed to extinguish her defiance before it got out of hand. Sufficiently pacified, it was time to change her into her pajamas, followed by the routine bedtime story.

By now she was sleepy, but fought the urge to close her eyes. He sat at the top of the bed with her, book held upright on the bedcovers as he slowly moved his finger under each word; he doubted that she'd pick up reading for another year, but felt it was good to get her interested. "Then he looked beyond the thorn bushes, out into the big dark night. Nothing could be further than the sky. 'I love you right up to the moon,' he said,and closed his eyes." He paused and smiled as Amelia reached to stroke at the picture of the little hare on the thick, glossy paper, then continued, " 'Oh,that's far,' said Big Nut Brown Hare.'Thats is very far.' Big Nutbrown Hare settled Little Nutbrown Hare into his bed of leaves."

Alfred moved his leading hand away to tuck the toddler into bed. It was fairly low, good if she wanted to get out of bed but bad for his back with all the stooping and bending. Once she was snuggled down properly he finished the story in a whisper. "He leaned over and kissed him good night."

He did the same.

"Then he lay down close by and whispered with a smile, 'I love you right up to the moon - and back.' " Sometimes, this would be the moment when an excitable voice giggled 'again again', but it appeared that Amelia was already sleeping soundly, arms wrapped tight around Mr Trunky. "Goodnight Amy," he murmured into her golden curls, "I love you." He carefully stood and moved to the door to switch off the main light, the pink and blue bedroom left glowing from a lone nightlight on the bedside table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You asked for more father/daughter interaction, and here it is. (Don't worry there will be more lol.) I was gonna write more for this chapter, but he literally watches TV for an hour then goes to bed so it's not that interesting. But the melon comment is true - that's me. I'm mildly allergic and no one believed me :(
> 
> The book quoted is 'Guess How Much I Love You' by Sam McBratney.
> 
> Again, thanks for the comments and general support on this. I'm using it as something to keep ticking over with my writing, as I'm coming up to a year since updating 'Twelve Months' - still not done! I'll be posting that on here once it's finished and editing it beyond the first draft. ;)


	5. Movie Night

They were both in way over their heads. Although Alfred had been learning the tricks of the trade for the past couple of years, he was still fairly new to the subject of parenting, while poor Arthur was clueless. How does one go about bringing a new person into a toddler's life with minimal confusion and upset? The Omega's best guess was by including Amelia in most, if not all, of their little dates and get-togethers, and tonight they found themselves curled up under blankets on the couch watching _The Lion King_ , the little girl perched on her father's lap, smiling at the bright colours and clapping along to the musical numbers. She'd never seen it before. There were a few tears during the dark scene at the elephant graveyard, but otherwise she appeared to be enjoying it. She held Mr Trunky tight to her chest; perhaps he was the reason for her distress at that scene.

Though as the film rolled on and Mufasa's body lay still and lifeless on the ground, Alfred picked up on the Omega's tension. A discreet glance revealed glassy eyes and tightly drawn lips. He checked his daughter; she seemed fine, bored even. He grabbed the tissue box off the end table and handed it to Arthur. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," he grumbled back, but took a couple of tissues nonetheless. The Alpha looked away while he dried his eyes, pretending not to notice, until a shaky voice added, "This bit always gets me."

Alfred carefully kept hold of Amelia with one hand and reached out to the tearful Omega with the other. "Come here," he said quietly, and offered a small smile. For all his fussing and embarrassment it didn't take any more encouragement for Arthur to scoot over and curl up against him. "Better?"

"A little, I guess." He sighed, his attention returned to the screen before them. "Just hits on a personal level, you know?"

The American bit his lip and wondered how to word his question sensitively. "How?" Oh dear; simple conversations with a toddler appeared to have devastated his communication skills.

He watched as the Omega folded and toyed with the tissue in his hands. "My mother died when I was very young; he was the only other Omega in my family, and left dad with bringing us all up. She did her best, but she didn't understand my nature well enough to properly help me through my first heats and heartbreaks - you know, Omega stuff. So I had to fit in with Alphas instead." He forced out a short laugh. "It made me a right piece of work for Alphas wanting to date me. You're the first one in years that's taken an interest."

"I had no idea," Alfred whispered, not certain where to look. He thought his instinctive feeling toward the Omega when they met was curiosity, but now he saw that was merely a mask over his confusion; Omega's were cautious and isolated until an Alpha called for their attention through displays of wit and charm, yet Arthur had struck up a conversation with confidence, hell, even flirted with him. Thinking about it now made him seem a bit odd, but if the Brit hadn't reached out to him then neither of them would be here, wrapped up under blankets together while watching a Disney movie. He combed through the golden ringlets on Amelia's head, gently breaking out the knots, and considered for a moment how she might turn out without her mother around. He thought she was an Alpha, but he couldn't be sure; and besides, without an Omega in her life how would she learn how to take care of her future mate? The old fears of not being able to provide for his daughter alone crept back into his chest and lodged there.

_But she has an Omega in her life,_ he thought, _for now, at least._ They had Arthur.

"I've always wanted a complete family," he muttered against his shoulder with a sniff. Alfred felt the dampness of tears soak through his shirt.

"'Course you do," Alfred replied and held him tight. "Those Alphas don't know what they're missing. Anyone would be lucky to have you."

Arthur buried his face between his shoulder and the back of the couch. "Thank you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a while. Have some character development. And thanks again for the support! :3 xxx


	6. Awkwardness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kids are known to cause trouble. Amelia is no exception.

In his eyes, Arthur was a saint. The Omega assured him it was no troube to come round and keep Amelia occupied for a couple of hours so he could tidy the house up. He patted himself on the back for thinking far enough ahead to cover the living room carpet in newspaper for his daughter to do some painting with Arthur; the low table was a warzone of red, green, blue and yellow paint, scattered sheets of paper and cups of cloudy water. Despite insisting he had zero experience, Arthur was brilliant with children. Whenever Amy's attention strayed toward her father's activity around the house, he swooped in and distracted her with new colours or a cartoon on the TV to prevent her tracking paint across the floor in search of her daddy. Not once did she fuss or fight him; in fact most of the time she was laughing or singing the garbled lyrics to theme songs from her favourite shows. He was a natural.

  
He'd washed the dishes, vacuumed upstairs, dusted the living and dining rooms, and shined the bathroom until it was spotless, not to mention sorted and packed away all the toys scattered around the house. Satisfied with the morning's work, he joined his two favourite people on the living room floor. "What've we got here then?" he asked Amelia as he sat cross-legged next to her.

  
She slapped a hand onto a piece of paper, leaving a muddy handprint on the corner of her picture. "Daddy!" she proclaimed with a toothy grin. He grabbed a roll of paper towels and ripped a few off to clean her hands as he examined her latest masterpiece, co-created by Arthur no doubt.

  
He could make out three figures, one of them half the size of the other two, all with yellow - sorry, blond - hair. She hadn't quite got the hang of blending colours yet, leaving the face and hands a reddish-orange that he couldn't help but see as sunburn. In the middle was Amelia, big blobs of blue paint for eyes and red clothes to resemble all the pink he dressed her in. On the left was himself, complete with a sticky-up bit of hair and glasses. And on the right?

  
He pointed to the green-eyed figure. "Who's that?" he asked her, and sent a smile to Arthur. He'd been trying to teach her his name, saying, 'Arthur's coming over soon,' and, 'Do you like Arthur?' He had to take every opportunity to acclimatise her to him.

  
Maybe he was _too_ good at it. Amelia pointed to the Omega and cried, "Mommy!"

  
Oh.

  
Arthur's face turned red, and he stared back at the Alpha in horror. "I, uh," he said, looking away from Alfred's own surprised expression, "I'm going to make myself a cup of tea." He stood and slipped into the kitchen.

  
Alfred let him go, and sighed. "That's beautiful, Baby," he said softly, and kissed his daughter on the forehead. She didn't know any better. "Let's see what's on TV, huh?" He switched around with the remote to find something she liked, then tidied up the paints and newspaper, bringing her painting into the ktichen to dry on the windowsill. Arthur stood at the counter, steaming mug in hand, and shied away when he entered the room. He said nothing, just binned the wet paper and washed his hands, then waited a small distance from the Omega to see if he said anything.

  
After a while, Arthur croaked out, "I'm sorry."

  
The Alpha edged closer until he could wrap his arms around the shorter man. "Whatever for?" he asked, confused.

  
He heard the other man sniff, felt him nuzzle into his shoulder. "I'm not trying to replace your mate, I swear I'm not! I just really love her, and I love you, you're both so wonderful, and-"

  
He didn't give him chance to finish, just brought the Omega's chin up with a hooked finger and kissed him softly. Arthur let out a long breath and relaxed into his arms, returning the gesture with all the fondness of a life-partner, not some guy he'd been dating on and off for a couple of months. When they parted Alfred rested his forehead against his. "She loves you too, and so I do," he whispered. "You couldn't ever replace my mate, but no one could replace you either." He tried not to laugh as the Brit hid against his chest again and whined, instead stroking up and down his back. "She'd have liked you. And Amelia needs an Omega figure. No wonder she thinks you're her mom, Arthur - you're a natural."

  
"Really?"

  
"Really. But hey, if you're not comfortable with being called 'mom' then you should teach her to call you something else, yeah?"

  
The Omega pulled away a bit to look him in the eyes, his face flushed. "I don't know Al," he sighed. "If I change it now, would she ever call it me again? If things got serious - _seriously_ serious."

  
Alfred swore his heart stopped for a moment, caught off guard once more. "Y-You see us going that way?" he stammered.

  
"Hm, maybe." Arthur smiled and leaned back into his chest once more. "Maybe."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heehee, I'm such a tease :3 Enjoy the fluff for this chapter, because for the next four I'm going to rip your heart out, just you wait. :) x


	7. Failure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say right at the start, a HUGE thank you for all the comments, kudos and overall attention you've given me over this fic. I had no idea until I was checking up to see if I gave a name for Jackie's husband, and it really kicked me into gear to get the next chapter posted. I'm sorry I've not replied to everyone's comments, as I say I kinda stopped checking lol. Besides, it would mostly be the same message, which is this: Thank you for sticking with this story, I'm glad you like it (assuming you do of course) and it's always wonderful to get a response on my work. :) xxxxx
> 
> Btw, I said four more chapters on my last update for some reason - I think I meant two but I can't remember. We'll see. 'Enjoy' this chapter, where everything starts to go wrong >:D

Arthur looked uncomfortable. Jumpy. While he was used to blanking out the ear-piercing background noise of laughing and crying children that plagued playareas such as these, he imagined it was all very new to the Omega. Amused, he watched as he flinched at the squeals and shouts as they increased in volume and pitch; the American was left surprised when a rather boistrous child ran past and knocked his boyfriend's chair, only for the Omega to snarl at him and send him scuttling away. They were sat at a table facing each other over a coffee and Arthur's laptop; he had some work to catch up with but agreed to come along anyway.

Amelia was off in one of the shallower ball pits, playing with some other young children. She seemed to be in charge of the group, bigger and stronger than a lot of them. She turned three a couple of weeks ago, but he hadn't managed to get a birthday party together; none of the over children were able to go, according to their parents at least. He'd naively assumed that with Arthur around they wouldn't have a problem with getting Omegas to bring their kids round for a little party. Wrong. They were unmarried and unmated, if anything it made him a worse role model than as a single Alpha father. If his sub-par parenting had rubbed off on his daughter, they did not want her socialising with their own offspring.

Constant attention and adoration in every spare moment he had was not enough; his baby needed interaction with other children, her own friends, which he simply couldn't provide for her. Not without taking her to indoor playareas such as this. Every now and then he looked over to her and her pack to see if she was still enjoying herself. Satisfied, he turned back to Arthur to find him typing away at his computer. He ran his foot up the inside of one of his legs.

The Omega spluttered and looked back up at him, cheeks glowing red. "Alfred!" he hissed.

He grinned back at him. "What?" he asked airily, innocent of course.

"You know what," grumbled the Omega, and returned his eyes to his screen. He did it again. "Stop it Alfred," he pressed, "not here. I can see where Amelia gets it from."

The Alpha pouted. "Get's what?"

"Determination. Stubbornness. Arrogance. You know, Alpha things."

Alfred leant back on his chair, balancing on two legs, and blew air out his cheeks. "She's not like that," he said quietly. No, his little girl was sweet and playful and, and...

...And in a fight with another kid.

He scrambled to his feet, the other two legs of his chair clattering back to the floor as he bolted to the entrance of the ball pit. "Amy! Stop it!"

The girl was distracted for a moment, torn between asserting her rank and obeying her Head Alpha; she paused her assault of smacks against the boy's back to look over her shoulder at him, giving the other child an opening to land his fist on her head with a heavy thump. It took a couple of seconds to register, but soon enough she was bawling. Through the haze and tunnel vision brought on by a surge of protective instinct, Alfred saw the other kids in the playpit shoot from the scene, scared by the scent of protective Alpha radiating off him and wanting no ties with the events. As he wobbled through the no man's land of plastic balls the two children continued to strike each other, their hits growing heavier despite his attempts to get them to stop.

A young woman pushed past him, nearly sending him into the ballpit face-down, and swept up the little boy. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she screamed at him, "Coming in here and scaring him like that?"

"That's my daughter," Alfred said, dazed, and gestured to Amelia who was still sobbing.

"Hey, you." He turned around to find man in a suit, presumably the manager, pointing at him through the netting of the play area. "No Alphas in the play area."

"I'm just getting my daughter."

"Damn right you are, then you're getting out of this building."

Arthur, who had been stood frozen amongst the other Omegas watching the scene, suddenly exploded at the man. "For God's sake, he's just getting his daughter, why is that such a crime?" While they argued Alfred scooped up Amelia and carried her back out, rubbing her back as she wailed against his shoulder. He tried to soothe her, or perhaps he was trying to soothe himself, counting the beats of his heart in his head as he willed it to slow down. With all the people watching he felt on edge, like an animal cornered, and it only helped to fuel the need to protect his little girl.

But the Omega was doing enough protecting for the two of them. "What else is he supposed to do? Children fight all the time, get over it!"

The mother of the other kid stepped in. " _She_ started it!" she sneered.

"She is probably an Alpha and they're all learning how to establish dominance in a pack, it's perfectly natural," he replied.

"Oh yeah, and you'd know about natural, wouldn't you?"

There was a tense pause. Alfred could see how his boyfriend set his jaw and narrowed his eyes, and knew this wasn't going to go well. "Excuse me?" he muttered ever-so politely.

The woman sneered back at him. "Alphas like having an Omega on the side. I saw his wedding ring. But you? No mark, no scent - nothing! You're not even mates, let alone that brat's mother."

Arthur stepped in closer to her. "You don't know what you're talking about."

Amelia had stopped crying now, and clung to Alfred as if he were an Omega as she waited with everyone gathered to see what would happen next. The Alpha had a bad gut feeling about it; Arthur was practically shaking. All it would take was for someone to pull the trigger.

"Slut."

No sooner than she uttered the word a resounding _smack_ filled the room from Arthur slapping the other Omega across the face. Before they could erupt into a scrap, the manager got between them and repeated for them to leave. While Arthur shoved his laptop back in his case and downed the last of his coffee, Alfred sat Amelia on his chair and helped her get her shoes and coat on. She wriggled about and whined, "Noooo."

He released a heavy sigh and tried to get her arm in the sleeve. "Not now Amy, please," he quietly begged. "Be a good girl for me, ok?"

"No!" she wailed, tears spilling over her cheeks. "I don't want to go home! I don't want to!"

"Need a hand?" Arthur asked, coming over.

"Nope." The Alpha simply picked up the protesting toddler and carried her over his shoulder, all while she thrashed at his shoulder and back with her tiny hands, leaving Arthur to pick up their coats. He could feel stares following them but forced himself not to rush; he was an Alpha, he was in control of the situation. Little did he knew that it was slipping away from him.

Amelia kicked the back of his seat all the way home, bawling and devastated that her playtime had been cut short. Arthur did his best to calm her down from the passenger side, promising that they could go again another time, that they'd do something nice when they got home; typical Omega bartering. The Alpha was coming the end of his tether though, slamming on the brakes harshly at each red light, and even resorting to threats when his daughter refused to stop her fussing. She just screamed harder.

By the time they pulled into their drive he'd had enough. The Brit must have picked up on his sudden change in demeanor and begged him to not do it, but his capacity for reason was gone, replaced with a surge of misdirected anger. "Right," he growled, and yanked open the rearside door, "I've had just about enough of you." He unbuckled her from her seat and carried her to the door, ignoring the stares from Jackie and Pete over the garden fence. He meant to just frighten her into submission, into _silence_ , but having half of his genes meant that she didn't back down. While earlier she protested against him using her hands, this time she opted for kicking his chest and stomach as well, and it really, really hurt.

Without thinking, he lowered her to the ground, held her still and delivered a sharp smack to the back of her knees. He'd never, ever lifted a hand to her before. He instantly regretted it but it was done, the shock and betrayal evident in his little girl's tearful blue eyes. "Alfred!" Arthur screeched at him. He stood and backed away a couple of steps as the Omega swept the now quiet child up, as if she were his own. He hadn't used much force, only enough to sting, he hoped. What else could he have done to reign her in and get his message across? Though the method wouldn't have occurred to him if his own father hadn't resorted to such measures himself. _What the hell was I thinking?_ he thought in a daze as he silently unlocked the front door. Amelia was crying again, but softly, as if she was trying to hold it in. What damage had he just caused?

"I'm going for a walk," he said flatly once Arthur was inside.

The Omega turned his back to him. "I think that's a good idea," he murmured.

He closed the door with a meek click and pocketed his keys, and began to trudge down the drive to the sidewalk. He heard a disgusted tut and looked up from his feet to see Pete and Jackie glaring at him from their spectator seats on the other side of the fence. "You see? An Alpha can't take care of a child on their own. Far too aggressive, can't control themselves," Jackie chastised him, making sure that the rest of the street could hear no doubt.

Alfred stopped and took a deep breath. What did he have to lose? "Jackie?"

"What is it?"

"Fuck off."

\---

It was growing dark by the time he returned home, the air cold and damp. He was exhausted from the crash of adrenaline and the realisation that everyone - his parents, his neighbours, his boss - was right. He wasn't fit to raise Amelia. If he resorted to physical punishment, to trying to control her, then she deserved better. He was truly terrified that he'd unlock the door and find the house empty, except perhaps a note on the coffee table saying that Arthur had left with his daughter and he'd never see either of them again. An Alpha was supposed to protect those he loved, not hurt them.

His thoughts were exaggerated by hours of worry and guilt though, and he walked in to find the lights on and the air smelling of tinned alpha-spaghetti from Amy's dinner. She and the Omega were curled up on the couch watching a Disney movie. Arthur twisted around to look at him, expression wary. "Hey," he said.

"Hey," Alfred replied quietly, staying where he was by the door.

"There's some chili on the stove if you're hungry."

"I'm okay. Thanks."

He slowly walked over to lean on the back of the sofa. Amy was asleep, lying against Arthur's side and oblivious to the world, exhausted from an emotional day. "Is she okay?" Alfred asked, breath caught in his throat. God, just the sight of her put him on the point of breaking; he wanted to apologise, to beg for her forgiveness, but how could a three-year-old possibly understand? He didn't want to mess her up any more.

Arthur stroked his delicate fingers through her golden curls. "She's been quiet," he admitted, "but after dinner we had a little talk. She didn't think you were going to come back." He stopped, and wiped at his face. "I didn't think you would for a while. But I told her that you love her very much, and it'll be alright."

"Come here," the Alpha offered, moving to wrap his arms around the Brit's shoulders, but he pulled away.

"You scared us both today," he seethed.

"I- I know. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"I'm so mad at you Alfred, I don't know where to begin."

He retreated with a sigh. "You really love her, huh," he mused. He wrapped his arms around his midsection; he wanted to be held, to be forgiven. This was the closest he was going to get it seemed.

"Yes, I do. And I love you too, don't you doubt that, but I worry about you. How are you supposed to cope with a daughter as stubborn as yourself?"

"Let's not do this now," he muttered. The last thing he needed was Arthur turning on him too.

"You're exhausted, Alfred. You've neglected your own needs to care for her's, and it's catching up with you."

"I'm fine."

"You need help. Why don't you get your parents to stay for a while, take some of the load off?"

He threw his hands in the air. "We're not having this conversation. I'm going to bed."

Arthur called after him as he skulked up the stairs, but he didn't turn around. He wanted to punish himself, but wanted others to forgive him. He wanted to accept Arthur's advice, but didn't want to prove everyone else right.

He hurriedly made up the bed in the spare box room, leaving his room with the queen sized bed for the Omega. Arthur knew Amy's bedtime routine, and trusted him to take her through it; he'd do a better job than himself apparently.

Even with the resentment in his heart and the blow to his self esteem, it didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

\---

He overslept. Of course - he forgot to bring his alarm clock in from his bedroom. He jumped out of bed and got dressed, making himself presentable to beg his Omega for forgiveness. Things always seemed better the morning after, and after a good nights sleep and a splash of cold water over his face he managed to pluck up the courage to talk to his daughter and boyfriend. 

He found Amelia in front of the TV watching Spongebob, but Arthur was nowhere to be seen. Slowly, he walked over and sat down next to her, ruffling her hair in an affectionate manner. "Hey Baby Girl, where's Arthur?" he asked.

"He went shopping for food," she said without removing her eyes from the screen. All was normal then.

He sat by her side a couple of minutes, wording what he wanted to say in his head so she would understand. He had the good manners to wait until the episode ended, not wanting to spoil her fun, before saying softly, "Amy, I love you more than anything, you know." She didn't look at him, but he knew she was listening from how she fiddled with the hem of her socks. "I'm really sorry for hurting you yesterday. I had to tell you off because you were hurting me, but I shouldn't have done that. Two wrongs don't make a right. I'm sorry."

She got up on her knees to hug him; he let out a heavy sigh of relief when she did so. "I'll be good," she said, "I promise."

"Nobody's good all the time, Baby Girl, not even me. Just try your best and I will too, okay?"

"Okay."

He stood up and carried her on his hip to the kitchen. "Now, how about some pancakes?"

"Arthur made me oatmeal, but it was icky."

"Well then, we'll have to fix that with something sweet." He kissed her on the cheek and lowered her onto her chair. By the time she was tucking into a plate of cut-up pancakes she was a different child, all smiles and rosy cheeks again. He could have sat and absorbed her happiness all day if it weren't for the knock at the door. Maybe Arthur had forgotten his keys.

He couldn't be farther from the truth.

Two Omegas in suits stood at his door. "Can I help you?" he asked, praying that they weren't here for his money or his soul.

"Alfred F Jones?" the woman confirmed, and held up her badge. "Samantha Eden, and my colleague Stewart Brown, social services. We need to have a chat about your daughter."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Technically, Amy has half his alleles, but all the same genes. All humans have the same genes, since we all produce the same proteins! :P But I'm getting nerdy.)
> 
> It can't all be fluff I'm afraid - gotta have some drama mixed in. Raise the stakes. Angst. All that jazz. You know you love it really. ;) Also I'm increasing the rating to T due to the instance of cursing in this chapter (and physical violence I guess - Alfred, Arthur AND Amelia were at it omg), and certain 'implications' in the next, just a heads up.


	8. Fighting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg I updated something. How about that?

"You'd better come in I guess," he muttered, holding the door open for the two Omegas. The hairs on his arms were raised from the chill that swept down his body. Clearly the events of yesterday were far from over. "Would you like a drink? Coffee?"

"That won't be necessary," the male replied in a cool tone. "Where is Amelia?"

"She's having breakfast in the kitchen. Look, what exactly are you doing here?"

"We received word from an anonymous source who was concerned your daughter is suffering physical abuse," she said plainly, as if she _hadn't_ just accused him of savagely beating his child.

He seethed, unsure what he should be feeling. Embarrassment. Terror. Fury. Anyone who claimed Alphas to be more physical beings than emotional ones didn't know what they were talking about; Alfred was emotional, dangerously so. He was devastated by the death of Amelia's mother; exhausted by caring for her but determined to do his best; not merely content but happy, actually happy, whenever he looked at the little patchwork family of him, his daughter and his boyfriend. Now, through his own actions, he was facing the shame of failure as a father. His body wanted to explode into a screaming defence and get these accusers out of their home, it wanted to drop to the floor and beg for another chance, it wanted to accept the consequences of yesterdays events and hold his honour, all at once. The uncertainty of which one to pick left him trembling before the two Omegas, as if he was already on trial. Alphas were no less emotional than Omegas, but they expressed it physically rather than verbally; he needed to talk to them, explain everything, even accept that everyone was right and ask for help at last, but he simply didn't know how.

"Mr Jones?"

He shook his head in an attempt to clear his head. "Anonymous? Give me three guesses," he muttered, rubbing his forehead with one hand. "Look, I won't deny I- I hit her. But it was just a smack on the back of the legs! It wasn't hard, I wouldn't-" He stopped mid-sentence, realising that it didn't matter what he would and wouldn't do. These people had come to collect evidence of a suspected crime, not listen to his assurance of perfect parenting. He sighed, looking away. "I messed up. I didn't know what else to do. It's what my parents did..."

The man, who had paid more attention to the furnishings than Alfred's words, chimed in, "Abuse occurs in cycles. A child experiences it then goes on to use it on their own children."

"I'd hardly call it abuse," he replied.

"Then what would you call it?"

"Discipline with reasonable force. And a bad day."

The woman huffed, still taking notes. "You find it acceptable to take your 'bad day' out on your daughter?"

He tugged at his hair with a growl. "No!" he snapped. "I just slipped up. It won't happen again."

"I'm afraid we can't just take your word for it. With you already on our records we have to investigate the matter seriously." Oh. Of course. That time when she was a baby and next door ratted on him; it turned out to be colic after all.

He wiped a hand down his face, defeated. "Sure. Do whatever you need to do."

The woman entered the kitchen and pulled up a chair next to Amelia's, shooting the Alpha a glare that said 'some privacy please'. He slipped back into the living room, watching as the man made his way around the room, taking notes. With nothing else to do he perched on the couch, and waited. The omega ran a finger along the top of the fireplace, collecting a clump of dust; he'd meant to clean that for a while now. He singled out the patch of carpet that wasn't completely stuck to the floor peeled it back slightly, and noted the exposed spike grips. There was a red wine stain on the couch that had been there long before Amelia was born; Alfred had given up trying to soak it out. He pressed against the corners of the coffee table, shaking his head and scribbling something down, then rose and headed toward the stairs.

He stopped, and turned to Alfred.

"Is there no baby gate?" he asked. His frown suggested he was insulted by such a find.

The Alpha opened his mouth to explain himself, then realised he'd just dig himself a deeper hole, and shook his head. The social worker climbed the stairs, and Alfred gingerly followed, wondering what else he could find fault on.

The Omega checked the curtains, the windowsill, the wallpaper. He rooted through the dresser, no doubt to see whether or not her clothes were washed. The father couldn't help feeling patronised, but knew he was going through the motions of his job. Some of the clothes were too small, such was the reality of a growing youngster, but she had plenty of clothes that fit. The bed was unmade as of yet, since he was just sitting down for breakfast when the two Omegas arrived. The social worker ignored that though, and went straight for the toy chest and began pulling things out of it. "Unsuitable for age, loose parts, could be swallowed," he muttered, shaking his head. With no way to defend himself, Alfred left him to it and slunk back downstairs to see where the woman was up to with Amelia.

He paused in the living room, hidden behind the corner of the kitchen door, and listened in.

"Do you like living with your daddy?" came the woman's voice, slowly and carefully.

"I like pancakes," was his daughter's disjointed reply. She was starting to make sentences on her own.

"I like pancakes too. Do you like your daddy?"

A pause. He hoped it was a thorough nod and not hesitation. "I love my daddy."

"I'm sure you do. But do you like him? Is he a nice person?"

"Sometimes he gets mad." Shit. "But sometimes he cries. When I cry he makes me laugh and gives me candy. I don't like him sad."

Alfred remained hidden behind the wall, fist clenched as he tried not to break down; he'd never for a minute thought that his daughter knew about those nights, when he couldn't take the stress of work and bills and parenthood, not to mention the pain in his chest, and had to let it out. Who knew a three-year-old could be so socially astute? He'd tried so hard to hide it too. He had to be strong for her, she needed an Alpha to protect her even more without a mother. He didn't want her to grow up and blame herself for his mate's death, even if sometimes he did. Everything he did was to prove that he loved her, even if that meant punishing her.

"Mr Jones."

He leapt in fright at the sound of the second social worker's voice; the man had snuck up on him after coming downstairs. The cat was out of the bag now, and the woman's questions stopped. She gave the child a smile - genuine, Alfred was pleased to notice - and joined the other two adults in the living room. "It's your turn now," she said to the Alpha, offering him a seat as if it was her territory, not his. "So, Alfred," she began, tone far softer and brighter than when she introduced herself at the door, "how do you feel you're managing on your own? It must be tough."

He found himself nodding. "It is," he said carefully, rubbing at the stubble under his jaw. He hadn't shaved yet this morning. "But, I'm doing alright, I think. We're managing to cover food and bills. It's just tiring, y'know? Going from full-time worker to full-time dad every day."

"Last time social services paid a visit, you were offered help if you needed it. Records show you never took them up on the offer. Why?"

He shrugged slightly. The real answer was pride. He couldn't rely on the state to provide for his family, no matter how small or temporarily; and he certainly didn't want to prove his parents and peers right, that he couldn't manage. "I thought I could cope on my own."

She leaned forward, closing her notes and going in for the kill. He was cornered. " _Are_ you though?" she asked. "Are you coping, Alfred? You've said it yourself, you're exhausted from the non-stop responsibility of bringing food to the table and caring for Amelia. And if you're that tired, it's easy to slip on cleaning, to leave buying a baby gate 'til next week. To lose your temper." She offered a sympathetic smile, but he looked away. "We know you care. But we have to put Amelia's welfare before your own interests, no matter how well-intentioned."

"Get to point," he said, voice hoarse as his throat tightened.

The male Omega, sat to his right, finished writing on his paper and tore it off to give to him, keeping the carbon copy for their own records. "These are the improvements we want to see," he stated. "You'll have one month, unless you file to request longer, then there will be another inspection and a judge will decide whether Amelia is returned to you or taken in by the state."

"Returned?" Alfred asked. Surely they weren't suggesting-

"Amelia will be coming with us. Today. We'd appreciate your co-operation."

The Alpha looked back to the woman. She had nothing to say, only nodded to back up her colleague. He tried to speak, but nothing came out; of course nothing came out, how could he agree to give her up? But if he said no, they'd just return with a warrant, and the full force of the law. He looked over the back of the couch and into the kitchen were Amy sat colouring away at the table with some pencil crayons the woman had given her. She looked happy enough right now, but they were right, he was failing. And if he couldn't meet the standard then, well, what choice did he have but to give her the best chance?

"I'll go pack her some things," he replied quietly.

A month, a whole month. He was pretty sure they had washing facilities, but he tried to pack as many clothes as possible into one of the smaller suitcases he owned, as well as some books and toys she'd hate to be without. It helped to have something to focus on other than his thoughts, but it didn't stop him from crying. He tried to keep it quiet; the last thing he needed was one of the social workers coming up stairs to comfort him, but he also didn't want Amy catching onto what was happening too soon.

He searched frantically for Mr Trunky, her velvety soft elephant toy; she'd had it since being a baby. He wasn't under her pillow or down the side of the bed, nor underneath it or in the toy box. He checked his own bedroom, the bathroom, _everywhere_ before the male Omega came upstairs and told him they needed to go. Defeated, he carried the case downstairs and passed it over to them, just in time for the front door to open and Arthur come in, arms filled with grocery bags. "I'm home! You won't believe how hard it is to find decent teabags in this-" He frowned when he looked up and saw the two strangers in their home. "Who the hell are you?"

Alfred ran a hand through his hair. "Arthur, this is uh- Well, they're from social services. They're here to- to take Amy off our hands for a while."

The Omega deposited the bags on the coffee table and straightened up, face like thunder. "No," he said, jaw set.

"Arthur-"

"No! They can't! What for?"

"Sir," the woman interrupted, "if I'm correct you're not Mr Jones' husband _or_ mate. You have no legal sway or participation in this."

"Please Arthur," the Alpha begged, "don't make this harder. It's just for a month, okay?"

His boyfriend was having none of it. He hadn't been here for their little chat, he hadn't heard the logic behind the decision. "She needs him," he told the other Omegas, who waited patiently for him to finish. "She's his world, you haven't seen what a wonderful father he is! Please don't do this."

Alfred moved over to calm him down, holding him by the arms. "It's okay Arthur," he said, and glanced back at their visitors, "I'm sure we can visit, right?"

" _You_ can," the man replied, "but I'm afraid he can't. As my colleague said, since you're not married or mated he has no legal standing."

Arthur pulled him a couple of steps away and lowered his voice. "Is this about yesterday?" he asked, searching his eyes for answers.

The Alpha nodded. "There's some stuff they want me to sort out, and a judge will have to decide if we can take her back."

" _If?_ "

"Look, I've been trying my best for three years. I thought I was doing okay," he hurriedly explained; he could feel the pain resurging, "but they're the experts, and if they think she'll be better off some place else-"

"They're wrong," the Omega hissed.

"I hate to hurry you along, but we have work to do," the woman reminded them. "Perhaps you should fetch Amelia."

Arthur moved to grab his arm, but he dodged it and sent him a pleading look. The Omega let his arm drop back to his side, and Alfred entered the kitchen.

Amy saw him coming and smiled, showing off her baby teeth. "I drew you picture!" she proclaimed, wriggling with excitement in her booster seat. He leaned over her and reached for the piece of paper to look at it properly. It was another crudely scribbled one of her with Arthur and himself by her side. "It's beautiful, Baby," he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She giggled. He made some room on the fridge and pinned it to the door with a magnet; he took the opportunity to smother his emotions while he had his back to her. He turned back and picked her up out of her chair. "Amy, listen to me," he said. "You're going on a little vacation."

"Where we going?" she asked.

"I'm not going," he reinforced on their way back into the living room, "but these lovely Omegas are taking you somewhere nice, with lots of other kids, and toys."

He nearly dropped her when she started squirming in his grasp, realising what was happening, that he wasn't going with her. "No!" she whined, tightening her grip on him, and pressed herself against his chest.

The woman stepped forward, but Alfred gestured for her to hang on a second. He wasn't going to hand her over without a pleasant goodbye. "Shh, come on Baby, it's okay," he urged, struggling to find words a three-year-old would understand. "I'll come and visit. It won't be for long, I promise." But she refused to calm, fretful sobs forced from her lungs in protest, and after a full minute of it the Alpha had no choice but to hand her over into the woman's outstretched arms. She wasted no time in carrying her out of the house, leaving her colleague to carry her case out. Amelia's wails grew into full blown screaming for her daddy and he was drawn to follow, but went no further than the front door lest he change his mind and snatch her back.

Arthur watched at his side. "You can't just let them take her!" he pleaded, but the Alpha didn't move. There was nothing they could do. Instead he watched, detached, as the three of them got into the shiny black car and drove away. When they were out of sight he closed the front door.

A numbness clung to his body. He rested his forehead against the cool, whitewashed wood of the door and took a few slow, shaky breaths, eyes closed. When he opened them, his cheeks were soaked with tears, throat almost closed from the sobs strangling him. The house sat silent, Arthur stood somewhere behind him in his own form of shock. The cramp in his chest kept tugging at his heart, his lungs, just kept hurting, until the Omega finally steered him away from the door to collapse on the couch, where he remained for the rest of the day.

\---

"Jones."

Alfred looked up from his computer monitor. He'd been thoroughly engrossed in his work all morning in an attempt to block out Sunday's events; it also helped that he wasn't endlessly checking his phone for messages from the daycare, seeing as he'd cancelled his daughter's place. His boss stood in the doorway of his office, and beckoned him inside.

"Sit down, Alfred," the older Alpha said with a weary sigh, pinching his brow.

He did as he was told. His boss walked back behind his desk, but remained standing. A small fan circulated the air in the room and rustled papers on the desk. "I got a phone call this morning," the man explained, "informing me that your daughter's been taken in by social services."

Alfred's eyes widened. He should have known this wouldn't have gone unnoticed. "I uh- Yes, sir."

"This is a family-friendly business," his boss replied, looking out the window instead of at him. "I think it's best that we put you on paid suspension until this blows over."

"Sir?"

"We'll review your position in, a month was it? If she's returned to your custody, you'll be able to return. If not, well," he glanced over his shoulder at him, "you'll have to look for employment elsewhere."

Alfred was seething. This couldn't be within the law, could it? "You can't do this," he said weakly, his energy escaping him as the words slipped out; yes they could. Employers held the right to dismiss staff if they judged their behaviour and character to be a potential threat; having his child taken away on charges of physical abuse and lack of anger management was one hell of a red flag.

"I'm afraid I can, and I have to. Please collect your things and leave."

\---

He was back on the sofa, laying on his side with the TV on but not paying attention, when the door opened. He forced himself up find Arthur closing it behind him. As they locked eyes, both appeared equally confused by the other's presence. "What are you doing home so early?" the Omega asked softly, chucking his keys onto the coffee table to come and sit with him.

Alfred used his thighs as a pillow, snuggling into the comforting Omega scent. "They found out about Amy. I've been suspended," he muttered, letting Arthur comb gentle fingers repeatedly through his hair.

The Omega scoffed. "They can't do that!"

"That's what I said, but apparently they can. I'm being paid though." He twisted so that he could look up at him, taking hold of the hand brushing his scalp and pressing a kiss to it. "What about you?"

"Um, well, I need to talk to you about that actually." The look of horror he must have worn was enough to send the Brit careering into an apology. "It's nothing terrible! It's just that I meant to tell you on Saturday but, well, you know."

"What is it?" the Alpha asked, concerned, and reached a hand up to brush his cheek.

"It's the worst possible time."

"I don't care."

Arthur glanced at him, an expression of guilt on his face. "Well, I'm going into heat," he breathed. "And I was going to ask if- if you'd spend it with me."

The Alpha sat up to face him properly. "You mean, like mates?"

His boyfriend nodded. Alfred couldn't hold back a happy laugh, and pulled him into a tender kiss, unable to stop smiling. The Omega pulled away for breath, but remained close, tips of their noses brushing. "How long have we got?" the Alpha asked, taking his hands to hold.

Arthur bit his lip. "I think I'll be in heat by morning," he admitted. "I'm so disorganised, it's shameful. I should go back to my place and get my nesting materials."

"Yeah sure, if you're okay on your own I can grab some extra materials around the house," he replied, "find stuff with my scent on, y'know?"

The Omega grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him in for another kiss, this one more forceful. "I'll be an hour, tops," he promised as he released him, grabbed his car keys off the table, and disappeared out the front door, leaving a dishevelled Alpha to straighten himself out and gather everything soft and silky in the house.

Amelia's room remained firmly shut. He tried once more to put the situation to the back of his mind, but it was unbearably hard; she was his little girl, they'd barely been apart since the day she was born, and there was no stopping the guilt building in his stomach as he collected nesting materials for a new mate. He was betraying Amy, because there were much more important things he should be doing right now than knotting some Omega. But Arthur wasn't just 'some' Omega. He was right, the timing was terrible, but that was Alfred's fault. Had his life been different in that moment, had Amelia still been in daycare and Arthur asked him to claim him via a text during work hours, he would have accepted in a heartbeat; the Omega was wonderful with the youngster, and Alfred had no doubts his boyfriend would make the perfect mate, the perfect husband, the perfect mother.

He also berated himself over his last mate. Was it too soon? People already thought poorly of him, this would just be another log on the fire. What happened when his parents-in-law found out about Arthur? They'd already tried to take custody of Amy as a baby, and failed; though perhaps they'd be the logical option if the judge ruled against him in a months time. Though while he could handle a few more disapproved glares, a part of him still clung to desperately searching for approval from his mate; was he good enough? Would she understand?

After throwing the pillows and covers off the bed, he paused to pick up the photo of them on the night stand. The frame was dusty, the picture faded behind the glass. It was another time, another world, and for the first time in three years, he was able to bring himself to turn the picture face down. The answer to his questions were yes. Yes he was good enough, yes she would understand.

And yes, yes he would get their daughter back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The argument of 'is it ok to smack your kids' is a topic for another day, but I imagine that in a world so focussed on families and children that there would be a big emphasis on raising them 'correctly'.  
> Reeeeally not sure what level of speech a three-year-old is at, so Amy might seem a little advanced lol.  
> One more chapter! God knows when it'll be done, and I'm not sure if it'll be rather short or rather long. I know what scenes I want to include but we'll see how much detail that requires. Thanks again for all the support! XXX  
> EDIT: Where did all these comments come from? D8 I'm so sorry I've not replied to each one, you must thing I'm so rude, but I suck at checking up on comment so thank you, thank you, thank you!  
> PS: Even though they're gonna be mates, I'm keeping this fic smut free. ;)


	9. Winning

Just rolling over in their nest made his head spin; he was dehydrated, both from the lack of drinks and from perspiring so heavily from their activities. Arthur was curled against him, a fluffy blanket wrapped around his slender form, fast asleep. He wished he could lie down again and join him but it was Wednesday, one of the two days a week he could visit Amelia according to the letter he received in the post, the other being Saturday; so as quietly as he could, he extracted himself from the nest, took a shower, and got dressed.

The Omega was just coming round as he pulled a sweatshirt over his head. "Alfred?" he whined, sitting up and rubbing his forehead. "Where are you going?"

Careful not to get dragged back into bed, the American came over and kissed at his lips and cheeks. "I told you, I've got to see Amy today. I promised her." His mate grumbled and tried to pull him back over him for more, but he gently unwound his fingers from his top. "I'll only be a couple 'hours," he reasoned, "you can take care of yourself 'til then, right?"

Arthur nodded and closed his eyes, slipping back into unconsciousness between the pillows. While he was out of it the Alpha ate and forced a pint of water down himself, then brought up some cold snacks and drinks for the other man when he woke up. With one last kiss to his shoulder, he locked up the house and followed the directions to the address that came with the letter.

He was early. While he waited for the hands of his watch to tick round to his appointment time of eleven o'clock, he observed what he could from his place in the parking lot. The children's home was set out more like a school than a conventional house; youngsters from all over the county of all different ages were brought here, and there were dozens of them. Some would stay for a few weeks like his daughter, others indefinitely until they were found foster or adoptive parents. With Omegas going into heat every few months, large families were common, and if parents were deemed unsuitable that meant anywhere between two and ten children at a time were being taken into care. The building also served as an office, providing visitations and parental classes, and offered services for contraception and sex-ed for naive highschoolers. The tall metal fencing surrounding the site was decorated with scaled-up pictures of childrens drawings such as rainbows and jungle animals, and a quick glance at the door revealed the two security guards posted there, probably Alphas. The whole place had a sad look masked by happiness, like a prison painted pink.

At ten-to he exited his car, but something on the backseat caught his eye - the silvery velvet of Amelia's elephant toy. Grinning, he grabbed it and carried it under his arm to the building. The guards at the entrance didn't try to stop him as he walked, head down, through the doors; it seemed they were there to keep out over zealous parents or prevent any of the children from going mysteriously missing. He booked himself in at the front desk, and the receptionist asked him to take a seat; he noticed her looking him up and down and realised that one short shower wasn't going to wash away the heat scent that coated his skin. He sat down and kept to himself. He was the only one in the foyer, his leg jiggling up and down with nerves.

Bang on time, an Omega woman in a sharp suit click-clacked down the corridor, binder in hand. "Mr Jones?"

He nodded and stood to follow her down the hall, occupying his fidgeting hands with the soft toy. She opened a door into a side room, furnished with soft waiting room chairs and a play table, toys and crayons scattered all over. She told him to take a seat, she'd only be a minute or two, then disappeared further down the corridor. Steadying his breaths, he sat and waited, running his thumb back and forth over Mr Trunky's soft back. The room was silent, except for the ticking of the clock on the wall, but he could hear the children from other places in the building; some laughed and shouted as they played, others were wailing. It got him thinking, what if they were right? What if he was a bad parent, and it was better for Amy to be taken from him?

Just as he was debating getting up to leave, the door opened once more, and Amy came galloping towards him, shoes clopping against the linoleum. "Daddy!" He was on his knees in and instant and scooping her into a hug; he'd never let her go again.

"Hey baby," he said into her golden curls, growing tearful. He was overwhelmed by the feeling of her energy and heartbeat in his arms, parental instincts finally satisfied that she was safe and well. He unwound his arms and showed her the elephant toy, smiling as the light sparked up in her eyes. "Look who I found."

"Mr Twunky!" she laughed, taking him from his hands to hug him close.

Alfred glanced at the social worker, unsure what he was supposed to be doing. She watched silently, ready to take notes. When she noticed his distress, she said, "Amy, why don't you show your daddy some of the toys you like to play with?"

Amy started grabbing dolls out of a plastic box and talking him through all their names; this one was Lucy and liked going to the beach, and this was her Alpha Tracy who loved shopping, but he shouldn't listen to Suzy Allen because she says she doesn't and she's wrong. She showed off the dollhouse with all its rooms and decorations; lots of pieces were missing or non-functioning, as the item had been here a long time and was probably a donation in the first place. He watched as his daughter played, voicing the drama out loud in her garbled English. At home he sometimes joined in, but being watched by the woman put him on edge. Would he lose marks for not interacting with her? But the room was far too quiet, the atmosphere far too forced for him to play pretend. This wasn't natural. He couldn't pretend everything would be alright, because he didn't know.

Her short attention span switched several times during the hour, and by the closing minutes he'd persuaded her to draw him another masterpiece for the refrigerator. The woman checked her watch and said, "Okay, time to say bye for now, Amelia."

The little girl looked up, pouting. "I want go home," she argued. Alfred bit his lip and pulled her into his lap.

"Come on Baby, I need you to be a good girl for me," he said, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"No!" she whined, fighting against his hold to snuggle closer to his shoulder.

"I'll be back on Saturday. That's three sleeps," he reasoned, holding up three fingers. "You're a big girl, you can manage that, right?"

She sniffled and nodded. "Uh-huh."

He gave her a smile, despite wanting to cry himself; he couldn't show anything was wrong. Alphas had to be strong for their families. "Good girl," he said, kissing her on the forehead. They stood up and walked over to the social worker as she held up the door, Amy holding his hand tightly for as long as she could, Mr Trunky clasped in her other hand. He gave her one last hug and kiss before she was walked back to the other children. "Three more sleeps, okay?" he called after her, waving. He wandered back to the reception, certain there was some paperwork or booking for the next appointment to sort out. The lady returned a couple of minutes later and gave him some forms to fill in.

"You know, it's kinda hard to act natural while being watched," he said as he signed his name, trying to explain his awkwardness.

"That's normal," she replied. She gave him a sideways glance. "Our forms say that you don't currently have a mate. Do you need to change that?"

"Um, I guess," he said sheepishly. So she'd noticed, too. She handed him another form to amend his personal details. "So does that mean Arthur can come and see her too?"

"No, you'd have to be married for that since he's not Amelia's biological mother."

"Oh."

"Same time on Saturday?" she asked with a forced smile.

\---

On the way home he started thinking, which was a mistake because by the time he made it home his stomach was a knotted lump of panic; they must have thought him a pretty crap parent to take a new mate while his daughter was placed in care. He told himself it wasn't that simple, that he and Arthur would have made the decision if Amy hadn't been taken away anyway. But even if he could justify that, what would they do if he lost her but Arthur was pregnant? Would they lose the baby too? He was in such a tangle of worry that when he stepped into the bedroom Arthur sat up with a start upon catching his scent. "What's wrong?" he asked. "What happened?"

Alfred forced himself to calm down and joined him in the nest, sheddng his shirt along the way. "Shh, nothing's wrong, I'm just over-thinking stuff," he whispered, kissing him tenderly. He absently noted the empty plate and glass on the bedside table as his mate pulled him in for more. "Arthur," he said, and tried to pull away from the kiss, but the Omega followed, demanding. "Arthur wait." He sat back, panting slightly. "Are- Are you on birth control?"

The Omega blinked, hesitating. "Yes," he said, "I get the shot." His eyes widened for moment and he cursed, reaching for his phone. "What's the date? I'm due another one soon." His fingers danced over the screen for moment, then paused. "I- I should be okay."

The Alpha stared at him. "Should?"

"My last shot was supposed to run out in the middle of this week," he mumbled, "I was meant to get another last week, I just forgot to book it. But it's been in my system a good few years now," he said, sounding more certain and waving a hand in the air, "it'll be fine."

Alfred breathed a sigh of not-quite-convinced relief as he settled down beside him. "Yeah, it'll be fine." They'd cross that bridge when - _if_ \- they came to it.

\---

Arthur's heat tapered off quickly the day after. They spent the morning fixing up the bedroom, putting nesting materials in the wash, remaking the bed. While the Omega popped out to get them something for lunch, as they'd eaten through the last round of groceries, Alfred went over the list of improvements the social workers wanted to see around the house. The carpet in the living room needed refitting properly, and the fireplace needed a safety guard that was fixed to the wall, not just propped up. 'Cleaning' was circled. He urgently needed a set of baby gates for the stairs, but he thought the suggestion of sanding down the 'sharp' corners of the coffee table was a bit ridiculous.

He started with something he could do straight away: sorting through her toys to find what was deemed aged appropriate and what wasn't. Anything with small parts went in a garbage bag which he tied off and stored in the attic until she was old enough to have them back. Guilt nipped at him as he went through her belongings; she'd be confused and upset when she came home and couldn't find some of her favourite toys, but it was for the best. By the time Arthur got back with the groceries and a bag of McDonald's he was famished. As they sat at the dining table Alfred talked him through his plans.

"Since I'm on paid suspension the carpet won't be a problem. It needs replacing anyway," he said through a mouthful of Big Mac, "but I won't have enough for that _and_ a new couch."

"Why d'you need a new couch?" Arthur asked.

"It's falling apart. The cushions are flat, the arms are worn down, and I've run out of ideas for getting that stain out."

The Omega dipped some fries in the ketchup, pondering. "The sofa at my place is only a couple of years old, hasn't seen much action," he said. "And my coffee table is oval, so there's no corners. We could get them moved over here."

"But you wouldn't have anything at home," the Alpha replied quietly. He was scared to outright ask, but seeing as they were mates now he'd wondered what Arthur thought of moving in. It was the next step, right? In fact it probably came before spending a heat together but hey, it seemed they were good at doing things backwards.

Arthur shrugged and smiled at him from across the table, the afternoon light through the kitchen window setting his light hair aglow. "I'm already home," he said.

\---

Over the following weeks they managed to make headway on several pursuits. When he wasn't at work, Arthur looked into ending the contract for his apartment and hiring a moving van for his things, and Alfred finally got round to buying baby gates. Not one, not two, oh no, but four; one each for the top and bottom of the stairs, one for the steps on the back porch, and a spare. He wasn't taking any chances. The cashier at the home depot asked when his mate's due date was. He lied and said next week. While he was there he picked out a new carpet for the living room and booked a date for them to fit it, threatening to sue if it wasn't done properly.

His visits to see Amelia remained bittersweet; she clung to his leg or shoulders whenever he had to go, begged to go home. He hoped that such a response was noted by the social workers and went in his favour; even if he wasn't a perfect dad his daughter still wanted to be with him. He rang up one day to check if he could bring her a sweet treat, unsure what the rules for meals were; he was allowed to bring her a bag of gummy bears, but nothing bigger, she didn't need the sugar. He brought books sometimes and read them to her, pretending they were home together and he was reading her to sleep. He kept silent regarding her stored toys; what she didn't know couldn't hurt her. When asked to bring additional clothing he delivered, often that very afternoon. He made sure to mention the progress he and his mate were making at home as well. He'd prove them wrong, he swore he would.

One Sunday morning he and Arthur rolled up their sleeves and did a thorough spring clean of the house, top to bottom. He hadn't had time for such a thing in years, getting by with wiping down surfaces and vacuuming whenever he had a free afternoon, with Amy at daycare or a neighbour's house. They got behind every piece of furniture, washed all the linen, cleaned out every speck of dust and cobwebs that had gradually built over the months; it wasn't as filthy as one might think, but the place sparkled by the end of the day and smelled of pine and fresh air. After all that he managed to drop some tomato sauce on the kitchen floor from the pasta he made for dinner; Arthur nearly throttled him for marking the linoleum he'd scrubbed on his hands and knees. It was easier to keep the house clean with the Omega's help. They treated the next couple of days as a trial run to ensure they could keep on top of it; once it was clear they could, Alfred rang the social centre to organise a visit. They were given a few days on which they might come round, but nothing more specific.

All in all, Alfred felt good, as good as he could feel considering his daughter was still in care. Maybe he needed this push, not to mention the time to get his life together. For the first time in years he had a clean house and a loving mate by his side; it felt right, even if it currently lacked the most important aspect of his life. He was counting down the days though, the calendar hanging on the kitchen wall covered in crosses as the day of their trial drew near. It wasn't a trial as such, there was no jury, but the letter he received in the mail said the 'review' would be overseen by a judge, and he was allowed a lawyer to aid in his defence. The authorities would present the evidence for and against him, and it would be decided whether he got Amelia back, or if she would be permanently placed in a foster home.

Reading those words set a chill of doubt into his bones. He was so confident they'd done everything that had been asked, so confident in himself and his abilities as a father, but nothing was for certain. It didn't matter if he thought he was a good parent, it was down to a complete stranger if he would get his daughter back or not. And that terrified him.

A social worker stopped by one evening to inspect their work. Arthur's house-proud Omega side shone through as he guided the man through their home, referencing the list they'd been given to show the improvements they'd made. But the Alpha stayed quiet and out of the way; he hadn't troubled Arthur with his worries. He wanted to be held in his arms and be allowed to cry about it all, but he was past that, he couldn't afford to lose it now. They were so close to the end.

On the morning of the review, he couldn't eat. Arthur forced three cups of coffee down him in the hopes it would keep him going long enough to hear the verdict. He doubted anyone up there was listening, but he said a little prayer while fixing his tie in front of the mirror. He felt like a dead man walking; perhaps that was an exaggeration, but that didn't make the dread any less formidable. The car keys jangled in his unsteady hands; Arthur offered to drive instead. He was just locking up when they noticed the commotion going on next door. A police car was parked outside, and for one heart-stopping moment the Alpha thought they were there for him, until he saw Jackie's husband, Paul, being dragged out of their house and into the car. There was a whistle behind him and he turned to see his neighbour, the one to the left of their house, leaning on the fence and watching the drama unfold. "What's going on?" Alfred asked, sauntering over, unable to tear his eyes away.

The neighbour nodded at the scene. "Stolen credit cards apparently," he said. "Who'd have thought?"

Arthur chuckled, watching as the woman argued with the officers until they piled in the car and drove away, leaving her standing in the middle of the street shouting after them. "Poor Jackie, she must be so _embarrassed_ ," he said without bothering to hide his smug grin.

Alfred felt a little sorry for her; assuming she knew nothing about the credit cards, her mate had just shown her up in front of everyone they knew. This could damage her career, her reputation, and turn her life upside down.

On the other hand, karma was a bitch.

\---

He was losing his mind to the stress. They'd been stuck in the tiny court room for the longest hour of his life. Social services began with the concerns they noted from their first visit, then he had his lawyer present his defence and declare what changes had been made around the home; social services then had to claim whether those changes had acually occurred from what they'd seen on following check-ups. The judge had the files in her hands, and was reading through both statements while they awaited a verdict. Arthur sat by his side; he had the Omega's hand in a death grip. He'd tried repeatedly to catch the eye of one of the social workers across the room, but they stared straight ahead at all times, unwilling to give him a hint of their report's conclusion.

The judge cleared her throat and set the papers aside. Alfred sat on the edge of the chair, heart dancing in his chest. "It seems apparent to me that Mr Jones has been eager to meet the standards put down by the state," she said, pressing her fingers together in an arch. "He has shown his willingness and dedication as a parent. However, I feel that continuous guidance and help from social services is required to prevent a similar situation occurring in the future." She looked at him over the rim of her glasses. "If you were to agree to this, Mr Jones, I would be happy and confident to return custody of Amelia to you."

Dumbstruck, he didn't answer until Arthur nudged him in the ribs. "Y-Yes, of course," he breathed, mouth dry.

The Alpha at the bench sat back, satisfied. "Then it's settled. Amelia Jones will return to her father's care, and the family will receive support sessions twice a month for the next six months, then once a month for the following year."

At the bang of the gavel Alfred was crushed by Arthur's hug, the Omega laughing with glee at the result. He just sat there, unable to process the outcome, and let his mate do all the rejoicing for him. They'd done it. They'd got their little girl back.

\---

The following morning, they made up Amelia's room, putting freshly washed covers on the bed and piling the stuffed animals high. He stood in the doorway for a solid ten minutes, trying to imagine having her back in the house. It had been quiet. He tried to picture her sprawled out on the floor again, playing with her now smaller collection of toys, tried to see himself perched on the edge of her bed and reading her to sleep. He felt like a new father all over again, going to the hospital to bring the baby home. While he was certain from his visits that she was coping with being away from home, he still worried that the experience would change her, make her wary of being taken away again, or even wary of him.

"We'll have to stop by the grocery store on the way home," he mumbled. "She's at that age when she'll only eat certain brands, and we've got nothing in she likes."

Arthur patted him on the back. "Maybe living away from home kicked the habit of being fussy," he said. "She can't pick and choose there."

The Alpha chuckled. "True," he said. He looked his mate up and down; somehow he'd managed to swindle the rest of the week off work. Not that Alfred didn't appreciate his help, but he was surprised his boss had given it the all clear. Perhaps it was that British charm, those captivating green eyes he'd fallen for that day at the Walmart. "You're amazing," he whispered, stroking his cheek with the back of his hand. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

The Omega made an exaggerated shrug. "I have no idea," he joked, sending him a wink over his shoulder as he descended the stairs. "Come on, quit stalling. I've waited long enough to see her again."

Alfred drove this time in the hopes it would take his mind off worrying. While they waited at a red light, he shared something that had been bothering him. "I've been thinking about quitting work." He glanced at Arthur; the Omega blinked in surprise. "I mean, they'd have fired me anyway if we didn't pass the review, so it's not like they value me or anything," he explained, gripping the wheel tighter. "Not to mention I hate being treated like shit."

Arthur shook his head. "I know love, but I was barely make enough to cover my own expenses. We can't afford it."

"I know," he said; the light changed and they set off again. "So what I'm thinking is I start job-hunting tomorrow, maybe call in a few favours with old friends, and see if I can get a place somewhere else. _Anything_." He sighed. "I- I can't stay where I am, I just can't."

"Alright. Don't worry, you'll find something."

He relaxed a little, shoulders slouching. He'd told himself over and over it would be okay, but never believed it until Arthur said so.

He parked the car up in record time, as close to the door as possible. Bouncing with excitement, like a child himself, they walked into the waiting area hand-in-hand. Butterflies danced in his stomach. They took a seat, and a few minutes later he caught sight of the woman walking towards them, holding the bag of belongings and Amelia's hand. The girl spotted him and let go, bolting towards him, shoe soles flapping against the floor. "Daddy!" she cried out, running into his outstretched arms. He hoisted her onto his hip, forcing back the tears in an attempt to keep the moment a happy one for her. She beamed at him for a few seconds, then clocked the Omega standing by his side. "Arthur!" she squealed, reaching for him.

"Come here, sweetie," Arthur laughed, taking her from him. "Oh, I've missed you!" Alfred didn't mind; the two hadn't seen each other in a month and besides, ther would be plenty of time for cuddles later.

A tap on his arm alterted him and he turned to face the social worker. She handed him the bag with Amelia's things. "I'm glad this all worked out," she said, offering a smile. "Believe it or not, we want to keep families together."

"I know," he said, scratching the back of his head. "And I'll take any help I can get this time, I swear."

She nodded, handing him what was hopefully the last paperwork he'd have to look at for a long, long time. "Fill these in when you've got time, and return them to me on our first session. Have a nice day."

He was just folding the documents up to stash in his pants pocket when he heard Amy say to Arthur, "You smell funny."

He sighed, wiping a hand down his face. "Amelia," he groaned. Two minutes and already he had to tell her to behave.

"But he does!"

The Omega just laughed. "No, she's right," he said. "You won't have noticed since we've not been apart."

"Noticed what?"

Arthur gave him the happiest, most beautiful smile he'd ever seen. "I'm pregnant."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *collapses on keyboard* DONE.  
> This was meant to be a oneshot, and even when I got a couple of requests to continue, I never thought I'd get so many hits/comments on it! Sorry for not replying to everyones messages - I get so speechless and happy whenever I see your kind words and never really know how to reply, I'm so much better at mass thank-yous than individual ones. (I'm shy, lol.) You can consider this a 'happily ever after' because while the story obviously continues, the troubles are over. For now at least - give it ten years when Amy will be a teenager, haha, good luck with that guys!  
> I think... Yes, this is the first multi-chapter fic I've ever completed. Ever. And in only 8ish months. O_O So now I know I can do it, there's no excuses.  
> Thank you so much for reading. xxxxx


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